Natalie was playing outside today and declared, "I am a bee keeper."
 

 

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Let's Be Real

I don't know about you, but I love having conversations with other moms where they tell me the reality of their days. I love knowing the nitty gritty - that their house is in disarray, that they didn't get through their curriculum this year, that they only spend two hours a day on actual schoolwork, that they were short tempered with their kids, etc.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure some people take me the wrong way. I can remember one particular instance, when I said to a mom, "really you only school two hours a day, now I don't feel so bad." I'm sure I looked happy. I have an inability to hide anything I am feeling.

And I just hope she didn't take me wrong. It's not that I'm thinking, "All right, you do an awful job, I feel superior!" I'm just thinking, "Here is this mom that I really respect, with respectful, obviously smart kids who read really well, and she seems to have it all together, but in reality she is just spending two hours a day on actual schoolwork. Maybe I didn't totally drop the ball this last year."

Well, here is a picture for all of you. I wish I would have thought of taking this picture before I did. My seven and nine year old were away at Day Camp today, and my four year old got some special attention. However, in the middle of that special attention, I did get on the internet and wasn't paying the greatest attention to the progress she was making on her art project. That is until she came to me with globs of paint all over her hands and said, "look at me Mommy". A picture of her hands would have been a priceless picture. The table I take a picture of here, was taken after I already started to clean it up.

THIS is my reality of daily homeschooling:


 
I would encourage you, to share your reality of daily homeschooling. If other moms are like me, it will encourage them. If you read this and decide to share something today, drop me a link, so we can hear about your struggles and joys too. --Cathy

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Nature Study

We went out on a walk on our street yesterday, Monday, May 19th. We picked a sample of the wild flowers (and some other items) on our street. We still need to try and identify them. I think this is a great bonus of homeschooling - learning in a natural and fun way. We get to play!

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Always Learning

The girls are always learning even when they are playing. I love it when I can sneak in academic learning into their play. Here they are below playing a simplified version of Yahtzee and practicing addition and carrying.



Cursive

And here is Rachel, our four year old, practicing her "cursive". Those loops are precursors to real writing you know!




Motherly Training?

And let's not forget training for one of the most important jobs of all - motherly nurturing. Here is Natalie with "baby" in tummy and "three year old" in tote.

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Math

After completing her Saxon Math worksheets, Natalie wanted to count all the money in her piggy bank. She was very motivated. She got an introduction to Math a year or two ahead in the curriculum from where she is now, and she didn't seem phased. I've been reading a book lately about the Suzuki method of violin. One thing that Suzuki said was that "Ability breeds ability." The book also said that learning should be fun, even though it may be challenging. Well, it seems to me Saxon is a lot like Suzuki, it provides some challenge, but also has a lot of repetition. If you get past the hump where the student doesn't like concentrating on Math (or Violin) for so long, and encourage the student that if they persist they will learn real, rewarding skills, then I think it works. Here is a pic of Natalie counting her money.

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